College of the Desert – Palm Desert California

College of the Desert

Students who attend College of the Desert (COD) may expect to transfer, complete degrees and certificates, prepare for the workforce, and acquire a general education that enables them to be well-rounded, productive citizens. To assure students’ learning success, we assess student learning needs, establish academic and vocational courses and programs appropriate to those needs, determine the effectiveness of those courses and programs, and implement changes to improve student learning.

COD is a two-year, public institution that provides lower division academic, vocational, and basic skills education. We are a successful college because we make decisions based on a systematic assessment of the needs of the community and the application of our core values.

History

In 1958, voters approved formation of a college district in the Coachella Valley in a landslide vote that created a local two-year college. It was the culmination of 10 years of study and planning by the governing boards of the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley Unified School Districts and the State Department of Education.

College of the Desert was established on April 15 of that year, when the initial five-member Board of Trustees was elected. On July 1, the members were seated and the new District began to function. COD got its name from a Palm Springs teenager, Douglas Crocker, who won a “Name the College” contest sponsored by the district and local newspapers.

After three years of study and planning, contracts were let in 1961 for the construction of nine buildings on 160 acres at Monterey Avenue and Avenue 44 (now Fred Waring Drive ) in Palm Desert. The buildings had been funded in 1959 by a bond issue of $3.5 million, and COD’s first students arrived in the Fall of 1962.

COD received its first accreditation on Oct. 14, 1963. In 1964, voters in the Coachella Valley approved a new $2 million bond issue to complete the first phase of COD construction. Within four years, construction was completed on the library (now the Hilb Student Center ), the Gymnasium, and the Agricultural Science, Agricultural Technology, Nursing and Engineering buildings.